13 inmates found dead in prison in Ecuador where dozens have been murdered in the last month

Thirteen inmates died over the weekend at a prison in Ecuador that has seen 44 killed in violence in the last month, authorities said Monday. The deaths occurred Sunday at a prison in the southwestern coastal city of Machala and are now under investigation.

State prison authority SNAI said in a statement that the bodies were found by police after “the detonation of an explosive device” outside the prison.

According to local media reports, the deaths occurred due to asphyxiation.

The explosion, about 325 feet from the prison, was caused by a drone used to distract prison guards, according to reports.

The SNAI said autopsies and “routine procedures” were being carried out to determine the causes of death.

31 inmates died in the same prison last month, many of them from asphyxiation, after a deadly armed riot. At the end of September, 14 othersincluding a prison guard, were killed in another armed confrontation there.

According to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, at least 663 prisoners have died in acts of violence inside Ecuadorian prisons since 2020. Periodically, images of mutilated or burned bodies in their prisons go viral on social networks.

President Daniel Noboa advocates a tough policy against organized crime, similar to that of his Salvadoran counterpart, Nayib Bukele, and in 2024 declared the country in a state of internal armed conflict to confront the cartels.

Another confrontation between drug gangs in September claimed at least 17 lives in a prison located in the coastal city of Esmeraldas, near the border with Colombia.

Last year, a series of coordinated riots at multiple prisons led to the hostage-taking of 150 prison guards.

Ecuador’s prisons have become some of the deadliest in Latin America, as overcrowding, corruption and weak state control have allowed gangs connected to drug traffickers in Colombia and Mexico to proliferate.

Last month, one of Ecuador’s most wanted drug traffickers was caughtyears later he faked his death and moved to Spain. Wilmer Chavarría, also known as “Pipo,” is believed to be the leader of Los Lobos, a drug trafficking group that was recently arrested. designated terrorist organization by the United States.

Earlier this year, another Los Lobos leader, Carlos D, was arrested at his home in the coastal town of Portoviejo.

He The United States declared Los Lobos last year to be the largest drug trafficking organization in Ecuador.

Criminal gang violence continues unabated in Ecuador after the recapture in June of the country’s largest drug trafficker, Adolfo Maciaswho leads the Los Choneros gang, following his escape from a maximum security prison in 2024. In July, the Ecuadorian government Macías was extradited to the United States, where he faces multiple charges of drug and firearms trafficking.